Yarm Pre-Prep School has partnered with a fun, pioneering campaign aimed at getting schoolchildren to make a musical instrument.
Children at the school already take part in Ukulele lessons but have taken their musical prowess a step further by making their own instruments – from margarine tubs.
The Utterly Butterly Ukulele Project (TUBUP) involves pupils building their own ukuleles, known as TUB-Ukes, and learning to play the instrument.
The TUB-Ukes are constructed from an Utterly Butterly tub, a piece of wood and fishing line, which acts as the instrument’s string.
Forty-one pupils from Yarm Pre-Prep participated in the project and, after building their instruments and learning the basics, delivered a performance to the rest of the school.
The school offers a comprehensive schedule of activities, which includes music, and the Pre-Prep children have performed on stage in Yarm School’s Princess Alexandra Auditorium.
Joanne Speight, Yarm Pre-Prep Coordinator, said: “Music, as with all extra-curricular activities, is an important learning experience for any youngster and our extensive music programme is a great way to introduce pupils to a number of different instruments and activities. It also encourages independent learning, which is vital in today’s age in preparing children for secondary school and beyond.
“It was an enjoyable day for the entire school and I am grateful to the UBUP for visiting and teaching our pupils about how they can make musical instruments. The creative workshops throughout the day complemented our music programme well and we have seen a great deal of interest in pupils playing the ukulele.”
The instrument was famously played by When I’m Cleaning Windows singer George Formby and has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in recent years. Schoolchildren are now just as likely to pick up the Ukulele as the recorder, while popstars Meghan Trainor and Taylor Swift both play.